antepenult

American  

[an-tee-pee-nuhlt, -pi-nuhlt] / ˌæn tiˈpi nʌlt, -pɪˈnʌlt /

noun

1. the third syllable from the end in a word, as te in antepenult.

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antepenult British  

/ ˌæntɪpɪˈnʌlt /

noun

1. the third last syllable in a word

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Other Word Forms

• preantepenult adjective

Etymology

Origin of antepenult

1575–85; < Latin ( syllaba ) antepaenultima the second (syllable) from the last, feminine of antepaenultimus standing before the penult. See ante-, penult

Example Sentences

The accent of Hyperion is properly on the penult, which is long in quantity, but the English poets, with rare exceptions, have thrown it back upon the antepenult.

From Project Gutenberg

Footnote: The Indian names are usually pronounced exactly as spelled, with each syllable distinctly sounded, and the principal accent on the penult, as in Ah-wah´-nee, or the antepenult, as in Yo-sem´-i-te.

From Project Gutenberg

Unfortunately the music of the chorus was moulded on the Italian text, and each verse ended with the accent on the antepenult, which occurs frequently in German and Italian, but never in French.

From Project Gutenberg

But if the syllable still remains short after the enclitic has been added, it is not accented unless the word originally took the accent on the antepenult.

From Project Gutenberg

The accent must fall on the penult, if it was long, otherwise on the antepenult of the word.

From Project Gutenberg